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St. Francis' Eva Borders looks to repeat state tennis championship

Nate Bryan, Special to Courier Journal
Published 9:42 p.m. ET May 16, 2018

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St Francis's Eva Borders hits the ball during the finals of the Girl's Singles KHSAA State Tennis tournament at Boone Tennis Complex in Lexington, Ky. Eva won over Michelle McKamey of McCracken Co.(Photo: Adam Creech, Special to CJ)Buy Photo

If Eva Borders is going to defend her singles championship at this weekend’s State Tennis Championships at the University of Kentucky, the St. Francis senior likely will have to do so against quite the youthful contingent.

Borders is the only upperclassman seeded among the top eight, a rarity for an event usually dominated by returning veterans from years before.

But this season is unlike any other.

Borders, who edged Manual sophomore Nejla Zukic for the Sixth Region title last week, is the fourth seed behind three freshmen: Sacred Heart’s Carrie Beckman is the No. 1 seed, Valkyries teammate Ellie Eades is the No. 2 seed and Scott County’s Olivia Gallagher, the 11th Region champ, is the No. 3 seed.

Gallagher was seeded and made it to the quarterfinals last season, while it’s the state debut for Eades and Beckman as middle schoolers don't play for Sacred Heart.

“At the beginning of the season, we discussed who and what we play for and in what order: Sacred Heart, team and then self,” said Sacred Heart coach Whitney Thompson. "And that is exactly what Carrie and Ellie have done this season, which has rewarded our school, our team and themselves."

The four No. 5 seeds are Zukic, North Oldham freshman Katie Beavin, Lexington Christian sophomore Lauren Waddles and McCracken County sophomore Sophia Shiben. Beavin beat her twin, ninth-seeded Emma, for the Eighth Region title last week after the sisters became North Oldham’s first girls doubles state champions last season. Waddles was the 11th Region runner-up to Gallagher, while Shiben is the First Region champ.

Fueled by the Beavins, North Oldham earned its first girls tennis state runner-up trophy last year. North Oldham coach Todd Arterbrun said splitting up his state championship duo was not done without heavy thought. He was hoping to get all four entrants seeded and it almost paid off as North Oldham’s No. 1 doubles team of sophomore Hannah Leibman and seventh-grader Reagen Mangan are one of the eight No. 9 seeds.

“Katie and Emma played like champions. They overcame being a set down in both the semifinals and finals. They were under a tremendous amount of pressure and pulled through,” Arterbrun said. “They handled the pressure well and played with much more maturity than eighth-graders. Being proud of Katie and Emma is an understatement: They mean so much to our program.”

Manual coach Ken Stovall said Zukic is a dark horse. Not only did she push Borders to the brink last week, but Zukic twice beat Shiben -- a state semifinalist in 2017 -- this year in the regular season.

“Her confidence this season has allowed her to trust her game in big matches and play her best in big moments,” Stovall said. “There are a lot of really talented players this year that are going to be at the state tournament. She will be one of those players, along with several others, that has a chance to win it all.”

Joining Emma Beavin as a No. 9 seed is Kentucky Country Day eighth-grader Sarah Fazlagic.

With the Beavins heading to singles, Sacred Heart hopes the door opens to it in doubles. The Valkyries have a pair of No. 9 seeds in Seventh Region champions Abby Birk (senior) and Natalie Chou (junior) and Seventh Region runners-up Sammie Higgins (senior) and Ella Rueff (junior).